Shravanabelagola: Lakhs of devotees from all over the country and abroad are expected to gather at Shravanabelagola, the Jain pilgrimage centre, for Lord Bahubali’s ‘Mahamastakabhisheka’, a once in 12-year ritual, that begins on Saturday.

The ceremony is an integral part of the ancient and composite Jain tradition at the pilgrimage centre here.

Rituals related to the Mahamastakabhisheka, or head anointment ceremony, were set in motion on February 7 by President Ram Nath Kovind. The main ceremony will, however, begin from today and continue till February 25.

According to Charukiriti Bhattarak Swami, the chief of Jain Muth, which is based in Shravanabelagola, an estimated 30 to 40 lakh devotees are expected to attend the ceremony.

The 57 ft-high statue of Lord Bahubali, son of the first Jain tirthankara Adinath, located on Vindyagiri hill here, was carved from a single rock and is said to be the world’s tallest monolithic granite statue.

The 2018 ceremony is the 88th in the series that began in 981 A.D during the Ganga dynasty.

The Mahamastakabhisheka ceremony has been regularly performed every 12 years since then, much like the Kumbh.

As the Mahamastakabhisheka begins, consecrated water is sprinkled on the participants by devotees carrying 1,008 specially prepared vessels. The statue is then bathed and anointed with milk, sugarcane juice and saffron paste, and sprinkled with sandalwood, turmeric, and vermilion.

Offerings are made of petals, gold and silver coins and precious stones. During the last Mahamastakabhisheka in 2006, the ceremony’s finale included an enormous shower of flowers from a waiting helicopter.

Massive arrangements have been made for the grand event. As many as 12 temporary townships with all the basic amenities have been built, said B N Varaprasad Reddy, special government officer for the event.

“A separate township meant for Jain sadhus, called ‘Thyagi Nagar’, has been built. There are separate townships for volunteers, media persons and devotees. These places have been provided with underground drainage, drinking water, lighting and other basic essentials,” he said.

Thousands of tents have been erected around two kilometres from the two hillocks, dotted with numerous temples.

The government has earmarked Rs 300 crore for the entire event, officials said.

At least 5,000 police personnel and 2,000 home guards will be deployed in addition to plainclothes men for security duty.

On February 7, the president had said Shravanabelagola had long been a centre of religion, spirituality and Indian culture.

By building this figure, artisans breathed life into a lifeless granite rock. ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’ (non-violence is the ultimate duty) is completely reflected in this image, Kovind said.

“The creepers carved on Bahubali’s statue are not just an indicator of his intense ascetic life, they also show how he was one with the nature and was away from pretences,” he said.

Located between the two hillocks of Vindyagiri and Chandragiri, Shravanabelagola has been a Jain pilgrimage centre for the past 2,500 years.

]]>http://tllt.in/jain-maha-kumbh-at-shravanabelagola-begins-today/feed/0Cauvery Row: The History Of A Century Old Dispute In South Indiahttp://tllt.in/cauvery-row-the-history-of-a-century-old-dispute-in-south-india/
http://tllt.in/cauvery-row-the-history-of-a-century-old-dispute-in-south-india/#respondFri, 16 Feb 2018 05:54:15 +0000http://tllt.in/?p=7545The Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict in the decades-long Cauvery river water sharing dispute which has been a ground for conflict among Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Here’s a timeline of the Cauvery water row that dates back to more than a century:

1892: The princely states of Madras and Mysore signed an agreement to share water but conflict erupted when a Mysore King decided to build a dam in 1910.

1924: Under the supervision of Government of India, an agreement was finally arrived at in 1924 and was set to lapse after a run of 50 years.

1960s: Karnataka proposed building new reservoirs along the river’s tributaries, which was rejected by the Planning Commission and the Centre. The state, however, flouted the directive and build four reservoirs with its own funds.

1973: A Cauvery Fact Finding Committee was set up to inspect the ground realities and formulate a report and after three years of discussion, a consensus was finally arrived at in 1976. Peace, however, was short-lived and a row broke put when the Harangi dam was built in Kodagu, Karnataka.

1986: The Tamil Nadu government appealed to the Central government to form a tribunal to resolve the matter. Later, the Supreme Court ordered the Central government to form a tribunal in 1990 after which, the Cauvery Waters Tribunal was constituted.

1997: The government set up two bodies – the Cauvery River Authority and Cauvery Monitoring Committee. While the CRA consisted of the PM and the chief ministers of all the involved states, the CMC was an expert body which consisted of engineers and technocrats who would take care of the ground realities and submit reports.

2002: A severe drought caused a drastic drop in water level in reservoirs of both states. Karnataka, however, refused to release water to Tamil Nadu. What followed was almost a riot like situation, that saw film actors and people from both the states come on the streets. In Karnataka, Tamil TV channels and screening of Tamil films were blocked. Buses entering from Tamil Nadu were also barred.

2007: After decades of negotiations between the states, the tribunal finally gave its verdict and allocated 419 billion ft³ (12 km³) of water annually to Tamil Nadu and 270 billion ft³ (7.6 km³) to Karnataka; 30 billion ft³ (0.8 km³) of Kaveri river water to Kerala and 7 billion ft³ (0.2 km³) to Puducherry. The dispute continued as all the states filed review petitions.

2012: On 19 September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was also the Chairman of the Cauvery River Authority, directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu daily. After Karnataka refused to do so, on 28 September, 2012, the Supreme Court slammed the Karnataka government for failing to comply with the directive of the Cauvery River Authority.

After continuously failing to obey the Supreme Court order, Tamil Nadu filed a petition against the state after which the apex court directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of water for 10 days to Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court came down heavily on Karnataka on its stand of not releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

The court told Karnataka, in no uncertain terms, that Tamil Nadu must get water from Cauvery on a regular basis. It asked the state to “live and let live” by releasing portion of the Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

2016: The SC in September ordered Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water, instead of 15,000 cusecs, to Tamil Nadu daily until September 20. Karnataka, in its defense, argued that Tamil Nadu’s claims of “agony” are false. The Karnataka government added that it hardly had enough water for farming or drinking due to poor rainfall.

Vandalism and protests were witnessed all across Karnataka. Stones were pelted at Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s private residence; an engineering student in Bengaluru was thrashed over an FB comment; at least half-a-dozen vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu registration numbers were set ablaze in Bengaluru and Mysuru; and most schools and colleges across the state remained closed.

While in Tamil Nadu, unidentified men hurled six crude bombs at a hotel owned by a Kannadiga, the attackers also stuck a message, written in Tamil, on a windowpane in the ice-cream parlour which read, “If Tamils are attacked continuously in Karnataka, Kannadiga workplaces here (in Tamil Nadu) will be attacked. Kannadigas live here too. Beware.”

New Delhi: Highly-placed government sources have revealed that around 20 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in retaliatory action by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) this year.

Many other soldiers have been injured on the other side of the de-facto border since January 1, sources said further, adding the Army has intensified punitive fire assaults and guerrilla operations along LoC to “pro-actively dominate” it.

The Times of India quoted a source as saying that the Army has been hammering and bleeding the Pakistani Army ever since its commanding officers along the LoC were given the freedom to act. The punitive action has helped deny the Pakistani forces any tactical advantage along the LoC.

The retaliatory action has seen many Pak Army posts getting destroyed. In the exchange of fire that has been going on, both sides have been using light field guns, heavy 120mm mortars and anti-tank guided missiles, the report said. Most of the action has been taking place in areas like Balnoi, Mendhar, Kalal, Keran, Doda, Sarla, Laleali and Banwat along the 778-km-long LoC.

The report came in the wake of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman warning Pakistan that it would pay the price for targeting Indian security forces’ camps in Jammu and Kashmir, through its terror proxies.

February has seen two such terror attacks by Pakistani proxies on Indian facilities – the first on the Sunjuwan Army camp in Jammu last Saturday while the second one at Srinagar on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp. In total, six Army soldiers and a CRPF jawan got martyred in these attacks.

Pakistan too has cautioned India in the wake of warnings from New Delhi, against any move to conduct fresh surgical strikes. It may be recalled that following the 2016 Uri attack, the Indian Army had conducted surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing many terrorists and Pakistani soldiers housed at terror camps.

Meanwhile, India has lost 16 soldiers, excluding BSF personnel and civilians, in more than 280 ceasefire violations and terror attacks in J&K this year. But, top Army officials including chief General Bipin Rawat have stressed that the Pak Army has been “suffering three to four times more casualties” in the heavy exchange of cross-border firings.

]]>http://tllt.in/indian-army-gives-free-hand-to-loc-commanders-20-pakistani-soldiers-killed-in-retaliatory-fire-this-year-report/feed/0Explosion At A Dharmshala In Bihar’s Arrah; Pistol Recovered From Roomhttp://tllt.in/explosion-at-a-dharmshala-in-bihars-arrah-pistol-recovered-from-room/
http://tllt.in/explosion-at-a-dharmshala-in-bihars-arrah-pistol-recovered-from-room/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 06:29:22 +0000http://tllt.in/?p=7515Bhojpur: An explosion occurred at a dharamshala in Bihar’s Arrah city, injuring one person. As soon as the Bihar Police got the information about the explosion in Harkhen Kumar Jain Dharmshala, they rushed to the spot and took the injured to a local hospital for treatment.

Talking to news agency ANI, Arrah’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Avkash Kumar said there were five people in the room when the incident took place. He, however, added that their purpose can only be identified after an investigation.

“There were five people in the room, out of which one is injured and has been sent to a hospital. Their purpose can only be identified after investigation,” said Kumar.

“One Aadhaar card and a pistol have been recovered from the room,” Kumar added.

New Delhi: Security forces have come across an alarming trend in Jammu and Kashmir. Initial investigations into Saturday’s terror attack on Sunjuwan Army camp in Jammu and Monday’s foiled bid to storm a CRPF camp in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar have revealed that the two could be interconnected.

Sources have said that preliminary investigations point towards a joint strategy by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror groups to attack security forces simultaneously in the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir, The Times of India reported on Thursday. The synchronisation of the two attacks was part of the same joint strategy, sources added.

A J&K police officer told the newspaper that back-to-back fidayeen attacks on security camps in Jammu and Kashmir are rare.

Normally, terror groups stage a fidayeen attack with an aim to stretch it over 2-3 days in order to grab undivided media attention. However, this time the attacks occurred in a span of three days. While JeM terrorists carried out the attack at Sunjuwan on Saturday, LeT followed it up at Karan Nagar on Monday.

As per investigations, the joint strategy was put together by JeM and LeT commanders operating in south Kashmir areas like Tral and Pulwama.

It is believed that the near-simultaneous attacks in Jammu and Kashmir regions were likely aimed at dividing the attention of the security forces.

While six soldiers and a civilian were killed in the Sunjuwan attack, one jawan died in the Karan Nagar strike. All the five terrorists involved in the two attacks – three in Jammu and two in Srinagar – were killed and identified as Pakistanis.

Why the trend of the two terror groups coming together to attack security forces in Jammu and Kashmir is worrying is because JeM and LeT had been operating independently until now and were seen as rivals. Earlier, LeT had collaborated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen to carry out attacks in the Valley, sources stated.

Another police officer added that coordination for the twin attacks was being done from Pakistan as well as from within Kashmir.

As part of the Railways Ministry‘s “Operation Swarn”, new coaches are being introduced in passenger trains to improve aesthetics and comfort levels.

Just weeks ago, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express had got new coaches, christened ‘Anubhuti’. The coaches have aircraft-like interiors.

“In a bid to enhance travelling experience and riding comfort of its passengers, we have refurbished the Rajdhani Express,” Ravinder Bhakar, chief spokesperson of Western Railway, said.

According to Bhakar, the refurbished coaches have anti-graffiti coated designer vinyl wrap in the passage, entrances, toilets and ceilings, as well as a new paint scheme on its wall panels.

“The seating area has been spruced up giving a pleasing ambience and better travelling experience. LED lights have been provided in the coaches and washrooms for better ambience and illumination. It would also help in reducing energy consumption,” the official said.

He informed that paintings and photographs depicting the monuments and cultural heritage of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi had been placed in the coaches.

“The washrooms have been fitted with branded bath fittings, wash basins with improved designs, premium quality soap and toilet paper dispensers, hygienic automatic personal seat dispensers for western toilets and auto janitors to control odour. Besides, the floors have been covered with scrapper mattings to keep them clean,” Bhakar added.

After introducing refurbished coaches in Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express, #WR has introduced more comfortable & elegant coaches with superior aesthetics in Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express from 6th February,2018 under #ProjectSwarn . Rest of the rakes likely to be done by March,18 pic.twitter.com/psqB5CLILN

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central government and High Courts of the states to explore the possibility of installation of CCTV cameras in state tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies.

A division bench of Justice A.K. Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit said that as far as the central quasi-judicial authorities are concerned, the Ministry of Law and Justice may consider installing CCTV cameras within four weeks.

“As far as state tribunal and state quasi-judicial authorities, including the executive magistrate and revenue courts, are concerned, we request the High Courts to consider this aspect on the administrative/judicial side,” the bench added.

The court also expressed satisfaction at the progress made by law ministry for installation of CCTV cameras in various tribunals saying it’s doing “great work”.

Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand apprised the court on the progress made by the Central government in this regard and submitted the status report on the installation of CCTV cameras in tribunals, and informed that technical specifications etc. have been finalised.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, who was assisting the apex court as an amicus curiae, pointed out that recording the proceedings may require certain safeguards, especially in cases of sexual assaults, protected witnesses in sensitive cases, family disputes, juvenile cases etc.

To this, the bench said the last year order for installation of CCTV cameras in courts and tribunals across the country was not meant for recording the proceedings.

It said: “Our purpose is three-fold: discipline, security and oversight. Safety and security is most important. New technology is being utilised everywhere and we also thought it should be used to ensure safety, to see discipline is maintained and then corrective steps can be taken by the High Court concerned.”

“We have not issued orders for recording the court proceedings. We have passed orders for installation of CCTV cameras so that concerns regarding safety and administration of justice could be addressed,” the bench added.

The court also ordered that the specifications, as well as the price range and sources of supply, may be placed by the Ministry of Law and Justice on its website so that uniform standard approach can be adopted at all places.

“It has been pointed out by Additional Solicitor General that the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology, National Informatics Centre after detailed study has prepared a draft of technical specifications… All the specifications, as well as the price range and sources of supply, may be placed by the Ministry of Law and Justice on its website so that uniform standard approach can be adopted at all places. This may also be cost-effective and obviate the need for a tender process to save time,” said the bench while posting the matter for April 4.

The court was hearing a plea which has sought audio and video recording of court proceedings in order to bring transparency.

Earlier, the central government had informed the court that various states have installed CCTV cameras in courtrooms and live audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings have started.

The top court had initially directed to install CCTV cameras in two districts in every state and Union Territory, but by its 14 August order of last year, it said, “With the experience now gained, it is desirable that CCTV cameras are installed in all subordinate courts in such a phased manner as may be considered appropriate by the high courts.”

The Indian Meteorological Department said in a preliminary report that the epicentre of the quake was 12.3 degrees North latitude and 93.0 degrees East longitude.

Earlier on January 14, a moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale, was recorded off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The epicentre of the quake, that occurred at 9.28 pm, was a point at 10 degrees North latitude and 93.1 degrees East longitude, the IMD had said in the report.

The depth of the tremor was 10 km.

]]>http://tllt.in/5-6-magnitude-earthquake-jolts-andaman-and-nicobar-islands/feed/0HATS OFF! This Is How Air India’s Pilot Captain Anupama Kohli Averted Mid-Air Collision With Vistara Flighthttp://tllt.in/hats-off-this-is-how-air-indias-pilot-captain-anupama-kohli-averted-mid-air-collision-with-vistara-flight/
http://tllt.in/hats-off-this-is-how-air-indias-pilot-captain-anupama-kohli-averted-mid-air-collision-with-vistara-flight/#respondMon, 12 Feb 2018 06:09:51 +0000http://tllt.in/?p=7404New Delhi: A major tragedy was averted in Mumbai skies on Wednesday (February 07) after an Air India flight averted a mid-air collision with a Vistara plane flying in opposite direction. The two planes with 261 passengers aboard sped towards each other, came as close as 100 feet and a collision was dodged by just a few seconds. According to The Times of India, air traffic controllers handling both the flights have been suspended. Notably, both the cockpits were manned by women at the time of the incident.

As per the daily, Air India’s Airbus A-319 (flight number AI 631) was on way to Bhopal from Mumbai and Vistara’s A-320 Neo (flight number UK 997) was flying from Delhi to Pune. “The planes were barely seconds away from each other. Vistara was descending from its assigned level of 29,000 feet to 27,100 feet where an AI flight was coming in the opposite direction. There may have been confusion between the ATC and Vistara cockpit — which at that time had a woman co-pilot at the controls and the captain had taken a toilet break. The AI flight had a woman commander, Captain Anupama Kohli. Maybe there was a mix-up in communication in those tense seconds like what altitude instruction is being given to which lady. This has to be seen,” the daily quoted sources as saying.

Thanks to Captain Anupama Kohli, whose presence of mind saved the lives of the fliers. She has an experience of more than 20 years. “She saw the Vistara aircraft approaching in her direction and could hear the ATC asking UK 997 ‘why are you on this level?’ The Vistara lady pilot told ATC that ‘no, you told me to come to this level’. She was monitoring this. Then she saw the Vistara plane closing in from her left side right towards her. The red sign went up in her cockpit and she got to know the Vistara plane was crossing her level ‘now’. Instantly, a resolution advisory (RA) came — ‘climb, climb, climb.” Then as per RA, Captain Kohli immediately climbed and turned right to steer clear of the Vistara plane,” sources further told the daily.

At the time of the incident, the Vistara plane was also being flown by the lady co-pilot as the male commander had taken a toilet break.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded two Vistara pilots over the incident. However, Vistara maintained that its pilots were told to drop the altitude to 27,000 and they “did not do so inadvertently.”

This is reportedly the second time an ‘airprox’ situation took place in Maharashtra skies in the last 15 days. On January 28, IndiGo and Emirates aircraft breached the minimum distance limit over Nagpur when the IndiGo A-320 was on its way to Raipur from Hyderabad and the Emirates Boeing 777 was flying from Singapore to Dubai.

Srinagar: A fierce encounter broke out between terrorists and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday morning.

Reports coming in from the Valley said a gunbattle was underway near a CRPF camp in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar. 23 Battalion of the CRPF was involved in the operation.

Sources told Times Now that terrorists were holed up in a building and one jawan had been injured in the exchange of fire.

PTI reported that the encounter started after a bid by the terrorists to attack the CRPF camp was thwarted by an alert sentry.

“The sentry at the camp noticed two suspicious persons at around 4.30 am, carrying back packs and weapons. He challenged them and opened fire as well,” a spokesman of the CRPF said.

The militants fled from the spot, the spokesman said, adding searches were launched soon after to track down the ultras.

The incident came just two days after Jaish-e-Mohammad militants attacked an Army camp in Sunjwan area of Jammu, killing six people including five soldiers. Three terrorists were also gunned down in the attack.